but that was enough. The space between stalls in the marketplace became less crowded very quickly. The young mothers had disappeared with their children.
Kiritâs life on Grigrit had been thus for many moons, since she moved downtower. This was what I couldnât see while I was judging her from my council seat.
âSkyshouter,â a tall male blackwing said as we passed.
âThank you, Hart Grigrit, mercy on your wings.â Kirit bowed her head in greeting.
The guard cleared his throat. âAny more of these disturbances, you and your fledges will be confined to quarters. Towermanâs orders, for the good of Grigrit.â
She nodded again, gripping Mocâs shoulder even tighter. âI understand.â
I, however, didnât comprehend. âThey didnât do anything!â I protested.
The blackwing shrugged and walked away with his cohort. Not his problem. Stunned, I rolled the incident over in my mind.
How much worse it would be for Kirit if she didnât renounce the Singers in council? She surely heard the whispers. Still Kirit moved through the market crowd, unafraid.
âLiras!â she called.
The wingmaker, famed throughout the northwest quadrant for his skill, had set up a booth at Grigrit market. When he saw Kirit, his face lit up and he stepped around his wares to give her a hug. âYou are a sight for cloudy eyes.â
He bowed to me. âNat, Councilor, how do you find your wings?â
âThey are excellent,â I said. âWhat are you doing here?â
âI go where the sales are. Doran has been kind enough to make me a place here.â The stress returned to Lirasâs eyes. âHow are your mothers?â
Suspecting Liras knew Ezarit had landed well after Spirefallâeveryone didâI guessed he meant Elna.
But Kirit didnât realize that. âSheâs moved to Varu, to be close to the city center.â
âElna is as well as can be expected,â I added. âThank you.â Liras tutted over us. I looked at his work. âThese are fine wings. You are adding new techniques.â
Liras smiled. âWeâve learned much from Singersâ wings. And Doran found some old designs and combined them with inventions from his own artifexes. His guards and associates benefited, as you well know. Heâs quite an innovator.â
Kirit made a face, as if to say, Doran? Heâs many things. Her grip remained tight on Mocâs shoulder.
But I could see that if the city needed innovation, Doran would find a way. More than that, he could inspire others to find new ideas, new ways to look towards the future. Thatâs what the city needed. And new gadgets and tools had been entering the southern markets lately. If Liras said Doran was a source, I wasnât surprised. âWhat other innovations?â
Waving his hand in a circle, Liras said, âOh, so many things. Wind catchers, better condensers. Thereâs talk of much more.â Liras encompassed the whole city in a gesture.
I added items to the list of things I wanted to ask Doran after council. I wanted to get involved, and now that weâd retrieved the codex, perhaps I could. Once he calmed down.
Liras was alone in the stall. Iâd almost left my respect and manners back on the council platform. âHow is your family?â His daughter had been a Magister and a wingmaker. Sheâd flown with Kiritâs group for our wingtest.
He bowed his head. âA skymouth, during Spirefall. I know you both did your best.â
âCalli?â The horror in Kiritâs voice shook me. She truly didnât know the city now, didnât know she shouldnât shout about its losses. I pictured the crimson banners, the faded flags on towertops: so many.
But Liras ViitâLiras Grigritâbowed his head. âCalliâs partner, Vida, and their little girl lived, but Calli is gone. I care for them now, my sons too. The boys are